Key takeaways
- SEO helps you rank. AEO helps you become the direct answer. GEO helps AI assistants cite you.
- Clear facts, structured data and question-led content help all three.
- Strong technical SEO is still the foundation — AI answers draw heavily on search results.
What do SEO, AEO and GEO mean?
Search engine optimisation (SEO) improves how your pages rank in search results. Answer engine optimisation (AEO) structures content so search engines and voice assistants can lift a direct answer — featured snippets and “People also ask” boxes. Generative engine optimisation (GEO) improves the chance that AI assistants such as ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, Perplexity and Google’s AI Overviews mention and cite your brand.
| Discipline | Goal | What helps most |
|---|---|---|
| SEO | Rank pages | Relevance, links, page speed, crawlability |
| AEO | Be the answer | Question headings, short direct answers, FAQ markup |
| GEO | Be cited by AI | Clear entity facts, authority, third-party mentions |
A practical checklist
- State your facts in plain text. Company name, founding year, location, services and contact details should be readable text, not only images.
- Add structured data. Organization, Service, FAQPage, Article and BreadcrumbList schema help machines understand who you are.
- Answer questions directly. Use the question as a heading and answer it in the first two sentences below it.
- Publish an llms.txt file. A short, plain-language summary of your site for AI crawlers.
- Check robots.txt. Make sure AI crawlers such as GPTBot, ClaudeBot and PerplexityBot can read your public pages.
- Earn mentions elsewhere. Reviews, directories, press and partner sites confirm your claims.
Does GEO replace SEO?
No. AI assistants still rely heavily on search indexes and trusted web pages. Technical SEO is the foundation; AEO and GEO are layers on top. The same work — fast pages, clear structure and genuinely useful content — helps with all three.
Our SEO, AEO and GEO service combines technical audits, structured data and content strategy for brands targeting the US and global markets.
